Printing process and mechanism



N 1944- A. TAYLOR PRINTING PROCESS AND MECHANISM V 2 Sheerls-Sheet l Filed Sept. 14, 1942 INVENTOR RN TAYwR TTORN EY I Nov. 28, 1944. TAYLOR 2,363,817

PRINTING PROCESS AND MECHANISM Filed Sept. 14, 1942 Z'Sheets-S heet 2 INVEN'i'OR A N 72mm ,ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 28, 1944 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE o PROCESS MECHANISM Auburn Taylor, Charleston, W. Va., .assignor to .1"

The Goss Printing Press Company, Chicago, 2 Ill.,-a corporation of Illinois Application September 14, 1942, Serial No. 458.179

. 18 Claims.

The present invention relates to a new and improved process and mechanism for printing.

Objects and advantages of theinvention will be set forth in part hereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom, or maybe learnedfby practice with the invention, the same being realized and attained by means ofthe instrumentalities,

processes, steps and combinations pointed out in the appended claims. The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements, processes, steps, combinations and improvements herein shown and described.

The accompanying drawings, referred to herein and constituting apart hereof, illustrate one embodiment of, and a form of apparatus for carrying out the process of the invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. i

"It is an object of the present invention to provide in the process of printing a method and means for maintaining the inking mechanism of the printing press in a clean condition in order to obtain the best printing results. A further object is the provision of a method and means for removing hardened bits of ink which collect on the inking mechanism ofa printing press in places from which it is not picked up for impression on the printedproduct. Still another object is. the provision of a method and means for removing surplus ink from portions of the inking mechanism of the printing presswhich correspond to margins on the form means and printed producnwhereby the collection of troublesome deposits of ink is prevented. The invention further provides a method and means for removingink from. the ink. drum of a rotary printing press at places where the inkmay be deposited by action of the inking rollers but from which ink is not drawn in supplying. ink to the form means and printed product. The invention i also provides method and means 'forpreventing the collection of hardened deposits of water-base ink on the inking mechanism of a printing press when water-base inks are used therein,

Of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view partly in section'and partly inelevation of the inking mechanism of a rorollers. A plurality of inkingrollers jarefdis tributed about the inkdrum. in peripheral contact therewith for distributing ink over the surface of the ink drumnand these rollers. an d the ink drum may have relatively axially reciprocating movement in order to more thoroughly distribute the ink. t f g An ink fountain is provided asa sourceof ink for the inking mechanism, and has rotatably mounted therein a' fountain roller from "which ink is transferredto the ink drum bymeans of a spiral or multiple disk roller to rotate in ink film interference with the ink on the fountain roller and a transfer roller to convey the ink from the spiral or multiple disk roller to theink drum. Afountain blade and la page cut'ofi blade are provided in commotion with the fountain roller for columnar adjustment of color intem sity in the printed product and silencing or blanking out page widths in the inking] mechanism when less than capacity numbers of pages are to be printed on the press.

Means are provided for removing ink from.

areas of the surface of the ink drum which do not supply ink to the form roller, and these areas occur at areas corresponding to margins on the form roller and the printed product. Although effort may be made in the construction of the inking mechanism to prevent distribution of ink to these areas where it is not used up and may.

collect and perhaps harden; it is found that such tary printing press embodying the present in- 9 vention; l i

. Fig.2 is a verticalsectional view of the ink drum cleaning means shown in Fig. 1 on a slight- 1y enlarged scale; I

i :Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

deposits do build up at the ends of the inking rollers as a result of rolling the ink between the inking rollers and the ink drum. This troublesome collection of ink'is jincreased whenthe 3 ink drum and inking rollershave relative axially reciprocating motion in the. press in order to more thoroughly distiibutethe ink, as in this case the ink is directly carried" toosuch areas of the ink drum by the inking rollers. When less than a capacity number of pages are to be printed on the press the form on the form roller will occupyonly a fraction 'of the total. width of that embodiment of the,

roller, and the page cutoff blade is then adjusted 'to the fountain roller in order to prevent so far difliculty. The collection of ink is particularly. 1

difficult and troublesome when water-base inks are used for printing on the press, for the gelling characteristics of the ink and the evaporation of the water will resultin hard deposits of ink on portions of the ink drum.

There is, therefore, provided, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a cleaning roller preferably of rubber or ruibber-like composition surface to. rotate against the surface of the ink drum at areassuch as those mentioned where ink collects and is not (not shown) of the printing press. An adjust- -ment screw 29 threaded through the support 28 forward edge is spring biased by a pair of coiled springs 33 against the surface of ink drum l0. A smallerscraper blade 3 is pivotally mounted on pin 35 and its forward ecraping edge lies against the surface of cleaning roller 26. A pair of inwardly turned projections 36 are formed inused up. Means are provided for supplying an I ink softening agent to the surface of. this roller to be transferred to theink drum, and a scraper blade is provided to remove'the softened ink from the surface of the ink drum.

As illustratively embodied the cleaning roller may. rotate in (a cleaning fountain to which cleansing agent is supplied or, in accordance with another illustrative embodiment of the invention, a sight-feed oiler may -be utilized to provide I measured and desired quantities of cleansing agent to the cleaning roller.

It will be understood thatthe foregoing general description .and' the following detailed description as well areexem-plary and explanatory of the invention but'are not restrictive thereof.

tegral at the tops of the lateral wallsof the fountain 25 a rests for blade 3| when the cleaning assembly is moved back from ink drum l0 and out of operating position. 'A plate 3'! extends between the projections 36 and a coiled spring 38 is positioned betweenit and the smaller blade 34 to bias the latter memberagainst roller 26.

The fountain 25 is divided by means of a baffie plate 40 into a reservoir section 4|, and an exit section 42. Cleansing fluid enters through the bottom of reservoir section by a pipe 43 which is provided with a flexible length of hose to the source of cleansing agent (not shown), a hand valve 45 being positioned in the line to'control the flow of cleansing agent into the fountain. The exit section 42 of the fountain. is connected by a flexible exit hose 46 to a suitabl place of disposal for used cleaning fluid. The cleansing agenttentering reservoir-section 4| will suitably Referring now to the illustrative embodiments of the present invention shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings, the inking mechanism of a rotary printing press may comprise an ink drum H] from the surface of which ink is transferred by transfer rollers II to the form roller (not shown) ofthe printing press.

Inking rollers I2, l3, M are grouped aboutthe inking rollers and the ink drum will have relatively axially reciprocating movement, while in other presses there is not this movement.

An ink fountain l5 has rotatably mounted therein a fountain roller |6, from'which ink' is transferred to ink drum It by a spiral or multiple disk roller H, such as shown and described in prior U. S. Patent No. 2,154,544, and a transfer roller l8. A fountain blade 20 and page cutoff blade2| of known and conventional construction are provided in conjunction with the fountain roller l6 for the-respective purposes of making columnar adjustments in the colorintensity of the ink in the printed product, and of cutting off the supply of ink to page wide portions of the ink drum when the form on the form roller has corresponding blank page widths.

The embodied cleaning means for the ink drum,'as shown indetail. in Figs. 2 and 3, comprises a fountain 25 for cleansing agent and a relatively shortv cleaning roller 26 mounted therebe conveniently and securely fixed to the frame nism cleaning means of the present invention is' shown in Fig. 4. In this embodiment a support 50 is provided suitably fixedly mounted on the printing press frame (not shown) and has slidably mounted thereon a fram 5| which carries a sight-feed oiler cup 52 of familiar and conventional design. A scraper blade 53 is also mounted on the slidable frame 5| to engage the surface of ink roller |0,-and a depending arm 5410f the frame carries the rotatably mounted cleaning roller 55 which is surfaced with rubber or rubber-like composition material. A sm'all'pipe 56 conveys cleansing agent from the sight-feed oiler 52 for deposit upon the surface of roller 55, and the flow of-the cleansing agent is controlled by the lever 5! positioned at the top of the oiler. The frame member 5| and its appurtenant parts are adjusted and fixed in position similarly to the embodiment already described by means of a screw 60 threaded through the support 50 and having a non-threaded length 6| passing through anaperture in frame 5| with a lug 62fixed'to its end, whereby the cleaning assembly may be slidingly mounted upon a support 28 which may ink drum Ill.

In its operation the cleansing means of the present invention is utilized to maintain the ink drum l0 free of ink deposits which build up in the operation of the inking mechanism. When capacity number of pages is being printed on the press ink drum II) will be covered with ink for substantially its entire length, except for marginal: areas at its ends which do not correspond to portions of the form on the form roller to be inked. "The action of the inkingrollers 12, I3, I 4 in working the inkbetween themselves and the ink drum in results in squeezing portions-of ink into the marginal areas from which it is not transferred to the form cylinders; This deposit is increased, of course, in presses in which the ink drum I and inking rollers l2, l3, l4 have relative reciprocating axial movement, for the ink is then forced bodily into the marginal areas. In order to remove these deposits as they form the roller 26 of the embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2 is positioned to rotate againsttthe ink drum in these areast'o apply cleansing agent, and .the ink which shown and described but departures maybe made therefrom within the scope .of the accompanying claims without departing from the principles .of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages. 1

What I claim is:

1. In a rotary printing press having an ink drum supplying ink to a member to be inked and axiallyireciprocating vibrating. rollers to disis thereby softened is removed by scraper blade cleansing agent from the fountain to moisten ink drum l0, and the scraper blade 3| may remove the softened deposits. The cleansing agent thus. applied to ink drum l0 acts as a lubricant, and roller .26 will cease to rotate after an amount of cleansing agent has been applied. By adjusting the pressure with which roller 26 bears against ink drum ID, the amount of cleansing agent applied before roller ZBis rendered inactive may be determined, or the pressure may be so adjustedthat mtation of roller 26 against ink drum I0 will be continuous during rotation of the latter. t

In the embodiment of Fig. 4 the action of roller 55 and scraper blade .53 is similar. and in this construction the cleansing agent may be supplied to the roller 55 in carefully measured amountsby adjustment of the oiler 52 which is the reservoir for the cleansing agent.

The cleaning assemblies of the present invention may be spaced along the length of ink drum ID at places corresponding to the page divisions of the form roller, so that ink drum l0 may be kept clean when less than the full page capacity of the form roller is utilized. Thus one or more tribute ink over the surface of the ink drum,-in combination, means for applying ink softening agent to the surface of the ink drum at an area i not supplying ink to the member to be inked and receiving ink distributed by the vibrating rollers, and means for removing softened ink from the '2. In arotary printing press having an ink drumsupplying ink to a member tobe inked and inking rollers to distribute ink over the surface of the ink drum, the ink drum and inking rollers having relatively axially reciprocating movement, in combination, means for applying ink softening agent to the surface of the ink drum at an area not supplying ink to the member to l be inked and receiving ink distributed by the inking rollers, and means for removing softened ink from the'area.

3. In a rotary printing press having an ink drum supplying ink to a member to be inked and inking rollers to distribute ink over the surface of the ink drum, in combination, means for applying ink softening agent to. the surface of the ink drum at an area notsupplying ink to the member to be inkedand means for removing softened ink from the area.

4. In a rotary printing press having an ink drum supplying ink to a memberto be inked and an inking roller to distribute ink over the surface of the ink drum, in combination, means for applying ink softening agent to the surface of the ink drum at an area adjacent the end of the inkpage width forms maybe left off or one or both ends of the form roller, and the page cutoff blade 2| is adjusted to prohibit supply of ink .to areas of the surface of the ink drum corresponding to these portions of the form roller. The action of the inking'rollers ,l2, l3, I4 is, in this case as well, to distribute ink to portions of the ink drum from which it is not transferred to the form roller for printing, and the cleaning assemblies at those positions may be put into operation to remove the ink deposits.

The cleansing agent used to soften the ink so' that it may be easily and surely removed will ordinarily be preferably a solvent for the solid materials used in the ink. In the case where water base ink is used in printing on the press, the deposits of ink referred to are particularly difficult and result in hard carbon deposits on the ink drum. In this case water or a solution of glycerin and water have been found to be a suitable cleansing agent to supply to the fountain 25 of the embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2 or to the sightfeed oiler 52 of the embodiment of Fig. 4.

The invention in its broader aspects is notlimited to the specific mechanisms, process and steps ing roller and means for removing softened ink from the area. i

5. In a printing press having a form member and an inking member for supply-ing ink to the form member, in combination, means for applying ink softening agent to an area of the inking member corresponding to an area adjacent a margin of the form on the form member. and means for removing softened ink from the area of the inking member.

6. In a rota y printing press for printing with water-base ink having an ink drum supplying water-base ink to a memberto be inked and inking rollers to distribute water-base ink over the surface of the ink drum, in combination, means for applying Water to the surface of the ink drum at an area not supplying water-base ink to the member to be inked for softening hardened water-base ink thereon and means for removing the softened Water-base ink from the area. i

7. In a rotary printing press for printing with water-base ink having an ink. drumsupplying water-base ink to a member to be inked and inking rollers to distribute water-base ink over the surface of the ink drum, in combination, means forapplying glycerin water solution to the surface of the ink drum at an area not supplying waterbase ink to the member to be inked for softening hardened water-base ink thereonandmeans for removing the softened water-base ink from the area.

8. In a rotary printing press having an ink drum supplying ink to a member to be inked and inking rollers to distribute ink over the surface of the ink drum, in combination, means for applying ink softening agent to the surface of the ink drum at an area not supplying ink to the member to be inked and means including a scraper blade having an edge against the ink drum at the area for removing softened ink from the area. i

9. In a rotary printing press having an ink drum supplying ink to a member to be inked and inking rollers to distribute ink over the surface of the ink drum, means for applying ink softening agent to the surface of the ink drum at an area not supplying ink to the member to be inked saidmeans comprising a fountain for ink softening agent and a roller mounted for rotation in the fountain to have peripheral contact with the surface of the ink-drum at said area, and means for removing softened ink from said area.

10. In a rotaryprinting press having an ink drum supplying ink to a member to be inked and inking rollers to distribute ink over the surface of the ink drum, means for applying ink softening agent to the surface of the ink drum at an area not supplying ink to the member to be inked said means comprising a roller to have peripheral contact with the ink drum at said area and means for applying ink softening agent to the surface of the roller, and means for removing softened ink from said area.

11. In a rotary printing press having an ink drum supplying ink to a member to be inked and inking rollers to distribute ink over the surface of the ink drum, means for applying measured amounts of ink softening agent to the surface of the ink drum at an area not supplying ink to the member to be inked and means for removing softened ink from said area.

12. In a rotary printing press having an ink drum supplying ink to amember to be'inked and inking rollers to distribute ink over the surface of the ink drum, means for applying measured amounts of ink softening agent to the surface of the ink drum at an area not supplying ink to the member to be inked said means comprising a roller to have peripheral contact with the ink drum at said area and means for applying measured amounts of ink softening agent to the surface of the roller, and means for removing softened ink from said area.

13. In a rotary printing press having an ink drum as a source of ink for the members to be inked and vibrating" rollers in peripheral contact with the ink drum, a cleaning roller in peripheral contact with the ink drum at a surface area env gaged by the vibrating rollers and not supplying ink to the members to be inked, means for applying ink softening agent to the cleansing roller for transfer to the ink drum, and a scraper blade engaging the periphery of the ink drum at a surface area engaged by the vibrating rollers and not supplying ink to'the members to be printed.

' 14. In a process of printing on a rotary press having an ink drum for supplyingink to a member to be inked the steps of applyingink softening agent to an area of the ink drumnot supplying ink to the member to be inked and removing the softened ink from the ink drum.

15. In a process of'printing on a printing'press having a form member and an inking member for supplying ink to the form member the steps of applying ink softening agent to the inking member at an area'corresponding to an areaadjacent a margin of the form on the form member, and removing the softened ink from the area of the inking member. 1

16. In a process of printing on a rotary press having an ink drum for supplying ink to a member to be inked and inking rollers for distributink drum not supplying ink to the member to be inked and receiving ink distributed by the inking rollers, and removing the softened ink from the area.

'17. In a process of printing with water-base ink on a printing press having a form member and an inking member for supplying Water-base Water to the inking member at an area corresponding to a margin area of the form member to soften hardened Water-base ink and removing the softened Water-base ink from the area of the inking member. i

18. In a process of printing with Water-base ink on a printing press having a form member and an inking member for supplying water-base ink to the form member, the steps of applying Water glycerin solution to the inking member at an area corresponding to a margin area of the form member to soften hardened water base ink and removing the softened water-base ink from the area of the inking member.

AUBURN TAYLOR. 

